4 The Hatvaiian Rat. 



was as offertoria to the beach-worn stones which had been set up as 

 fish-gods. The offerings had consisted mainly of fish, but vegeta- 

 ble material was also found, in addition to the remains of petrels. 

 The indications from the ethnological material obtained were that 

 the location had been abandoned early in the nineteenth century. 



"The rat remains were found among the lower stones of the 

 terraces and in the underlying talus. The spot was very dry, and 

 the floor of the shelter and the terraces were covered by a layer of 

 dust from six to eight inches deep. The interior of the shelter 

 was never reached by rain, as we had an opportunity of observing 

 during a very heavy storm. There is no reason to suppose that 

 the specimens might not have been preserved for many genera- 

 tions to come. 



"I believe that these rats were present during the occupation 

 of the site by the early fishermen, and subsisted on the offerings. 



"There is little doubt that we gathered all the fragments that 

 were available when we arrived at the place, as all the dirt and 

 fine dust was sifted. It puzzled me, however, to find mummies or 

 adhering bones, as in Lot 5, and not to find the skull (PI. IX). 

 lyOt 4 gave us a deal of trouble. We found the mummy of the rat 

 head downwards with its skull crushed between two stones, appar- 

 ently by a movement of the talus as it dived for its home. Beside 

 it was a bird bone which it had possibly been carrying. The stones 

 were carefully removed and the fine dirt below was sifted. As we 

 found no more bones, we removed the lower stones hoping to get 

 the remains of the crushed skull. The jaw (No. 9033) and skull 

 (No. 9032) were found, but I did not realize until Professor W. A. 

 Bryan pointed it out to me in Honolulu that the skull belonged to 

 another species \_Mus iii2(sc2ihis'\, nor did I stop to make any 

 comparisons, as we had already spent a considerable time on the 

 specimen. 



"The last use of Kahoolawe by Hawaiians, except for occa- 

 sional fishing excursions, was in 1843, when a penal settlement 

 established by the native government was abandoned. In 1863 

 it was leased for fifty years as a cattle ranch, and neither the 

 island nor the cattle were benefited thereb^^ 



"It might be mentioned that long since the abandonment by 

 the earh' fishermen of the particular spot I investigated, one or 

 more parties of bird hunters had visited the place with dogs,* to 



[254] 



